


The Deal

by F1_rabbit



Series: Voyages of the Starship Estrella [5]
Category: Motorcycling RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-05-03 15:33:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14572068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F1_rabbit/pseuds/F1_rabbit
Summary: When first contact with a new race goes a little bit wrong, Marc finds himself having to choose between doing what is right, and obeying the admiral’s orders.





	The Deal

Marc couldn’t believe his eyes, he had made contact with a previously unknown civilisation, and they looked almost human-like, but there was something about their beady blue eyes that had an alien quality to them.

The leader was dressed in what looked like a rough dark blue fabric, his feet flat with just two toes, as though he was made for wearing flipflops, and his fuzzy blond antennae dangled around his forehead, bobbing as he talked.

“My name is Captain Marc Marquez.”

“I am Miller of the Ozzis people.”

Marc tilted his head, confused by the name, but the translator didn’t always work successfully with them.

“Starfleet offers you and your people a chance to join the federation.”

The universal translator diligently repeated what Marc had said in the Ozzis language, the sounds unfamiliar to his human ears. There were no pauses between the words, if there were words to the language, and the translator was crackling as it struggled to keep up with the leader.

“Why should I join you?”

“We are a group of civilisations that seek peace in the universe.”

“We already have peace in this region.”

Marc nodded thoughtfully, he was running out of things to offer the Ozzis leader, and then he remembered a trick he’d used with an Enzolan princess.

“And I offer my friendship.”

Marc’s heart pounded as the Ozzis leader scrunched up his face, and Marc hoped that repulsion didn’t look like that on the Ozzis’s angular features.

“You disgust me, I do not want your… friendship.”

The translator crackled, and Marc had a sinking feeling, his hand hovering over his comms badge so that he could transport out of here if he had to. But he was hoping that it wouldn’t come to that.

“Captain? Marc?”

“It’s not a good time, Tito.”

“You have brought dishonour upon us.” Miller stood up, and Marc stepped back, wishing that he’d brought his phaser with him, but it was frowned upon to take weapons on a diplomatic mission.

“I am sorry to have offended you.” Marc took another step back, but there was a rock behind him, and he looked around to see that he was trapped.

“We’re beaming you out of there.” Tito’s voice squeaked, and Marc felt the crackle of static electricity.

“I declare war upon you and your star fleet.” Miller pointed at him, stepping closer, but Marc didn’t think he was a threat, he could sense that this was all for show, and he straightened his back, displaying the strength and diplomacy of a Starfleet captain.

Marc had never yet come across a situation that he couldn’t talk his way out of, and he didn’t want this to be his first.

“Wait!” Marc held out his hand, but it was too late, his atoms were being dragged back to the ship, and there was nothing that he could do to stop it.

He blinked as the teleporter room came into view, Tito rushing over as he slumped to the floor, and Marc was glad that Scotty wasn’t around to see him like this.

*

Marc sat in his quarters, he didn’t want anyone else to hear his conversation with the admiral, but Tito wouldn’t leave him.

Tito was sat out of sight, his fingers interlaced as his leg jiggled, and Marc found the sound annoying, but he couldn’t order Tito to leave. He had a feeling that he was going to need all the support he could get once the admiral had finished with him.

The video flashed up on the screen in front of him, and Marc sat up straight, hoping that he was presenting a calm and collected front.

“Admiral Rossi.”

“Captain Marquez, how did your first contact with the Ozzis go?” Admiral Rossi’s smirk said that he already knew what had happened, and Marc fought the urge to hang his head in shame.

He was captain, and he had to stand by his actions.

“There was a mix up with the universal translator, and instead of offering the Ozzis leader friendship… I offered them sex.”

“Anal sex.” Tito added, and a flicker of a smile crossed Admiral Rossi’s face before he compressed his lips.

“Giving or receiving?” Rossi snorted in laughter, and Marc shook his head, but he would tolerate being made fun of over being yelled at.

“I don’t know.” Marc tapped his fingers against his desk, only stopping when Rossi frowned. “The translator struggled with the Ozzis language, which is what caused this mess in the first place.”

Admiral Rossi glanced at someone off screen, and Marc knew that his assistant would be with him. They were joined at the hip, Uccio always scurrying after the admiral. Rossi nodded before turning his attention back to Marc.

“What was the final outcome of your diplomatic mission?”

Marc knew that lying to the admiral would be a one-way ticket to being booted out of Starfleet, but he wasn’t sure that the truth was going to do him any favours either.

“The Ozzis declared war on Starfleet.”

“We need to take action, show that Starfleet has the strength to defend themselves.” Rossi jabbed a finger at the palm of his hand, and Marc paused while he thought of a tactful way to tell the admiral that he was wrong.

“I don’t believe they are a threat, I am confident that I can negotiate with them.”

“We cannot allow Starfleet to look weak, the Ozzis may not be powerful on their own, but with others in the quadrant they could pose a real threat to the stability of Starfleet.”

Marc compressed his lips, but he recognised that tone of voice, nothing he could say or do would convince the admiral to change his mind.

“Yes, Admiral.”

The admiral’s finger hovered over the button to disconnect the call, but then he leant in closer so that he could whisper.

“I want you to send Luca back to Starfleet, it’s not safe for him there.”

Marc tapped his foot on the floor, but he didn’t let the admiral see how unimpressed he was.

“Yes, admiral. I will arrange for him to be transported back.”

“Thank you, Captain Marquez.”

The video call cut off, and Tito glared at him, but he would have done the same in his position.

“Alex isn’t going to be happy that you’re sending his boyfriend away.” Tito hung his head, although they had been friends for so long that he could say anything to him when he was in private.

“Luca isn’t going to be happy that his big brother thinks space is too dangerous for him.” Marc shook his head, no matter what he did someone was going to be unhappy.

“Do you want me to tell them?” Tito tensed, his smile strained, but Marc was grateful for his offer.

“No, I’m captain, and it’s only right that I tell them.” Marc stood up, his heart heavy as he strode towards Tito, delaying the inevitable. “Alex is going to need a friend after this, and I’m going to be the last person that he wants to talk to.”

“I’ll be there for him, he’s like a brother to me.”

Marc rested his hand on Tito’s shoulder, and he felt lucky to have someone like Tito in his corner, standing by him through all the chaos that came with exploring the vast depths of the universe.

“I don’t say this often enough, but, thank you, Tito.”

*

Marc stood outside Alex’s quarters, rehearsing what he was going to say, but in the end no words could express the regret he felt at not telling the admiral no.

Knocking on the door, he wondered what Luca would think about him using the computer to find out where he was, although Alex’s quarters was the second place anyone would look for Luca when he was off duty.

The door whooshed open, and Alex’s smile faded when he saw the serious look on Marc’s face.

“Can I come in?”

“Sure.” Alex stepped back, and Marc heard someone rushing to get dressed in the sleeping area.

“What happened with the diplomatic mission?”

“It didn’t go well, they declared war on Starfleet.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, they’re not a threat, and I’m sure that I can smooth it over before the admiral loses any more of his hair.”

“But…”

“But the admiral wants Luca to be transported back to Starfleet, as a precaution.”

“No.” Luca stepped round the partition that separated the doorway from the rest of the quarters.

“It’s not a request, Ensign.”

“So that’s it. Big brother says the word and I have to leave.”

“He’s the admiral.”

“I was top of my class at the academy, I had my pick of assignments, and do you know why I chose this starship?”

Marc couldn’t stop himself from glancing at Alex, who was standing in front of Luca like a shield, an unspoken threat that Marc would have to go through him if he wanted to take Luca away.

“Not Alex, although I love him very much and would do anything to be with him.” Luca reached out to hold Alex’s hand, squeezing it tight as he took a breath. “No, I chose the Starship Estrella because it is the best.”

“This is not a reflection on you. Luca, you have been a credit to the Starship Estrella, but the admiral’s orders must be obeyed.”

“It’s not fair.”

“It’s not.” Marc hung his head, feeling small not because Alex and Luca towered over him in height, but because he should have told the admiral where to go. “I’m sorry Luca, I will make sure that you receive a glowing recommendation.”

Alex leant in closer, ducking down so that he could look Marc in the eye.

“Marc, I’m asking this of you as a brother, please don’t do this.”

“I’m sorry, Alex, the admiral’s orders are final.”

Alex sniffed, and Marc could see his lip trembling as he tried to hold back the tears.

“Luca, your shuttle will be ready in two hours, I expect you to be packed and at the shuttle bay by that time.”

“Aye, Captain.” Luca’s words were even and steady, but he couldn’t hide the pain in his eyes, and Marc knew once he had left and the door was closed behind him, his true feelings would come rushing to the surface.

*

Marc spent over an hour tapping his foot, annoying Jorge, who had suggested that he call the admiral and inform him of Luca’s return plans.

Jorge had escorted him to his quarters, and even though the Vulcan facial expressions were some of the hardest to read in the known universe, Marc could tell that he had something to say, and whatever it was, he wasn’t going to like it.

“Ensign Marini is not happy that he is being relieved of duty because he is the admiral’s brother.”

“You know that the admiral’s orders are final.”

“I am well aware of the hierarchy in Starfleet.”

Marc groaned, resting his head in his hands as he wondered how much effort it would take to explain sarcasm and rhetorical questions to a Vulcan.

“But Ensign Marini is a valuable member of the crew, and I think the ship would feel his loss.”

“Agreed.”

Jorge raised an eyebrow, and Marc gestured to the seat across from him, waiting for him to sit down before continuing the conversation.

“Computer, enable privacy mode.”

Marc leant over to whisper, even though the computer was now shielding his quarters from every and all types of bugging devices and potential eavesdropping.

“So, are you suggesting that I should disobey the admiral?”

“I am suggesting that if the shuttle was to leave, and Luca was not on it, then it would buy us time to sort out our misunderstanding with the Ozzis.” Jorge sat back in his seat, and although his lips moved only a millimetre, maybe two, Marc knew that it was his smug grin. “By the time the admiral realises the mix up, everything would be settled, and the admiral would have no need for Luca to return to Starfleet.”

“Jorge, you are a genius.” Marc remembered the look of hurt on Alex’s face, and he hoped that this would be enough to get Alex to forgive him. “Will you take command of the bridge while I head down to shuttle bay?”

“Of course, Captain.” Jorge strode off, his Vulcan efficiency didn’t leave a lot of time for small talk, but he was the guy that Marc wanted in his corner when all hope was lost.

Marc smiled as he pressed his comms badge, and even though he couldn’t see Alex, he could hear the smile on his face when he told him the good news.

*

It had taken hours for Tito and him to work out the perfect apology message to the Ozzis, with no unsolicited offers of sex this time.

The universal translator, now that it had more data points to work with, and a little help from Tito, had no problem dealing with the complicated Ozzis language.

Tito had double, triple, and quadruple checked the message, and the computer had checked it over hundreds of times using all possible variants until they found a message that could not be misinterpreted in a negative way.

Marc sat down at his desk to record the message to Miller, the Ozzis leader, when a video call came through and Marc pressed the accept icon without considering who might be calling.

The admiral’s face flashed up on the screen, and the lines on his brow said that this wasn’t going to be fun for Marc.

“The transporter was set to beam Luca from the shuttle the second that he was in range.”

“You didn’t trust me to send Luca back to Starfleet safely?” Marc clicked his tongue, it was cheeky, but if the admiral was calling he already knew what had happened.

“It looks like my suspicions were right.”

“Luca is my crewmember, and I decide who gets to stay on this ship, not you.” Marc compressed his lips, he was on a path straight to being booted out of Starfleet, and then the admiral could do whatever he wanted with his crew.

“I know you understand what it is like to have a younger brother that you want to protect.”

“I do, admiral, but I also have to respect that he is a grown man now, and that he is free to make his own decisions, no matter how ill-advised or dangerous.”

The admiral rolled his eyes, and Marc nodded in agreement as the video flickered, almost as though Admiral Rossi was being transported away.

“Admiral?”

There was no answer, and Marc assumed it must have been urgent business, it was the only reason that the council would use the transporter within the Starfleet buildings.

And then Marc saw where the admiral had been sitting, in a standard Starfleet shuttle, probably on his way to chew him out in person.

Marc pressed his comms badge, his fingers tapping against his desk as he waited for the electronic beep that said it had connected.

“Tito, has the admiral beamed on board?”

“No captain, why?”

“Just a feeling, don’t worry about it.” Marc tapped his comms badge to end the message, and he chewed on his nails as he tried to piece together all the information.

The admiral had been on his way to see them, that much was obvious, but why had the emergency transporter been used, and if he wasn’t here on the Starship Estrella, where was he?

*

Marc strolled on to the bridge, hoping to have a quiet word with Jorge, but then he got the answer to his question.

On the screen was the admiral, and if the fuzzy blond antennae were anything to go by, he was with his new friends, the Ozzis.

“We have your leader, and we will not return him until you meet our demands.”

The translator’s robotic voice made the message banal, but it struck fear into Marc’s heart, and from the way that everyone else on the bridge froze, he wasn’t the only one that felt that way.

“What are your demands?”

The video cut off, mid-sentence, as though the Ozzis hadn’t fully worked out how to manage interstellar communications yet, and that didn’t reassure Marc at all.

If they couldn’t send a video message, how on earth did they manage to use a transporter beam to kidnap the admiral, and what kind of shoddy home-made transporter did they have?

The door to the bridge whooshed open, and Marc turned to see Luca running towards him, his eyes wide as he darted straight over to him.

“Marc, I mean Captain, is it true? Do they have Vale?”

Marc compressed his lips, nodding at Luca as he crumpled down into Marc’s chair, and Marc ignored the strange looks from his crew as he comforted Luca.

“We will get him back, I promise.”

“This is my fault, I should have just gone back to Starfleet like he asked.”

“This is not your fault, it’s the fault of the universal translator which decided to translate my offer of friendship as an offer of sex.”

“Anal sex.” Tito chimed in, and a faint flicker of a smile crossed Luca’s face.

“Thank you, Tito.” Marc would have had a laugh if the stakes weren’t so high, but he wouldn’t be able to joke about this until the admiral was back on the ship, safe and sound. “I promise that we will do everything in our power to resolve this.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

“Ensign Marini, are you able to continue with your duties?” Marc looked up at Luca, the familial resemblance to the admiral making Marc feel even more guilty.

“Yes.”

“I will tell Lieutenant Iannone of the situation, and I will keep you updated.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Luca nodded before scurrying off the bridge, heading back to the science department, probably via engineering so that he could get a hug from his boyfriend first.

Marc sat down in his chair, staring at the blank vid screen, and he knew that before he could go and rescue the admiral with guns blazing, he would have to try and resolve the situation diplomatically.

“Tito, replay the message from the Ozzis.”

The image quality was awful, and the admiral didn’t look injured, but there was something about the way that the admiral acted that was unusual.

Even though they didn’t get on, Marc had spent years around the admiral, and he knew that in a hostage situation he would be trying to talk his way out of it. His diplomatic skills were what got him promoted to admiral, so to see him sitting there silently was strange.

“Play the message again.” Marc leant forward in his seat, the entire bridge holding their breath as they waited for him to speak.

Tito stood behind him, resting his hand on his shoulder as Marc relaxed, staring at the glitchy video playing on a loop until Marc realised that the admiral’s eyes weren’t blinking because of poor video quality.

“The admiral, he’s blinking a message to us.”

Tito shot back to his console, typing away as he looked back over at Marc.

“I’ll get Iannone and his team to analyse the video.”

Marc’s eyes went wide, and Tito understood that gesture clearly.

The last thing either of them wanted was Luca seeing the video of his brother being held hostage.

*

It didn’t take long for Andrea to analyse the video, and work out that the admiral was blinking them his coordinates.

The problem was, where the Ozzis were holding the admiral hostage was surrounded by rocks that were giving off low-level radiation, which meant that there was no way to just beam him out of there.

Marc frowned, looking at the location on the screen, underground and difficult to invade, and there was no way of knowing how many Ozzis were guarding the admiral, or what weapons they had.

“We can’t get a lock on him from here,” Andrea said, “And they’ve taken his comms badge, or he wasn’t wearing it when they transported him out of the shuttle.”

“It’ll have been years since the admiral wore his comms badge, there’s no need for it at Starfleet.” Marc shook his head, none of them would ever think of leaving the ship without their comms badge, but it had been a long time since the admiral was in space. “How close would we have to be?”

“Ideally, on the planet’s surface.”

“I think I should go apologise in person.” Marc went to leave, but Tito grabbed his wrist, twisting him round so that he could look him in the eyes.

“Marc, it’s too dangerous.”

Andrea slid out of the room, the door whooshing shut behind him, and now that they were alone, Marc felt like someone had cranked up the tension in the room.

Tito’s bright blue eyes were staring into his soul, and he knew that Tito understood why he had to do this. It was his responsibility as captain to keep his crew, and all Starfleet personnel, safe.

“I have to do this.”

“I don’t want to lose you.” Tito stroked his cheek with his thumb, and Marc felt his mouth go dry as he leant in, their lips hovering only millimetres apart. His heart skipped a beat as his eyes fell shut, Tito’s warm breath arousing against his lips.

And then the door slid open, making them both jump back.

John looked down at his feet, his arms tucked behind his back as though he was a cadet on parade, and Marc coughed to diffuse the awkwardness.

“Yes, Scotty?”

“The shuttle’s ready for you, and it’s equipped with a short-range transporter that should be shielded from the interference.”

“Thank you, Scotty.”

Marc nodded at Tito, they would have to talk about this, but now all the focus was on rescuing the admiral, and Marc couldn’t let anything interfere with that. Tapping two fingers to his comms badge, he spoke as soon as it beeped.

“Jorge, take control of the bridge. I’m heading down to negotiate with the Ozzis.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Take care,” Tito whispered, and Marc felt his heart tighten, but he resisted the urge to look back.

He wasn’t strong enough to see the pain on Tito’s face.

*

Sitting alone in the shuttle, Marc wished that he’d gone to say goodbye to Alex, although that would only have worried him, and he had enough to deal with comforting Luca.

If the worst happened, Starfleet would give Alex the video that he had recorded long ago, when he first took command of the ship. He had thought it was over the top at the time, but now he was thinking of all the other things that he wanted to say.

Hitting record on the shuttle control panel, he compressed his lips before speaking.

“Alex, I want you to know how proud I am of you. You worked so hard to get into Starfleet Academy, and you worked even harder to be top of your class. I know that one day you will be captain of your own Starship, if that’s what you want.”

Marc sniffed, swallowing down the lump in his throat as he realised that there was someone else he would miss every bit as much as Alex.

“Tito, I should have told you this before I left…”

The shuttle rocked, and the lights on the control panel started flashing erratically, the display showing where the missile had struck the vessel.

A beep announced an incoming message, and Marc hit the button to accept, the video appearing on the screen and Marc had to resist the temptation to groan out loud when he saw the Ozzis’ leader.

“That was just a warning, if you do not turn back, we will be forced to destroy your vessel.” The universal translator seemed more accurate now, and Marc cursed the fact that it was finally useful only after he’d caused an interplanetary row and put Starfleet in danger.

“I bring you gifts, as way of an apology for our misunderstanding.”

“If your gifts are not satisfactory, we will kill you and your leader.” The transmission cut off, and Marc took a breath, wishing that he’d actually brought something as a gift for them.

Rooting around the cargo hold, he crossed his fingers that there was something the Ozzis would consider satisfactory. Although all he had to do was find a few crates and bluff his way through the apology for long enough for the transporter to rescue the admiral, and him.

*

The leader, Miller, came to greet him, and Marc pointed to the crates that were stacked up by the shuttle’s cargo door.

Miller nodded in their direction, and a team of eight Ozzis came to take the crates away, studying them suspiciously as they carried them into a cave.

Marc followed without a word, his head hung low, hoping that it would show how sorry he was.

Only once the crates had been sat in front of the leader and the crowd of Ozzis that had gathered to see the strange-looking human, did the leader speak.

“These gifts that you bring us, what are they?”

Marc held up a can, pointing to the ring pull as he slowly opened it, and the Ozzis jumped as the foam fizzed out of the small hole, creeping closer as the bubbles ebbed away.

“It is a delicacy on our planet.” Marc took a swig, the taste of the beer and the rush of alcohol was almost enough to trick his mind into believing that getting drunk while carrying out a rescue mission was a good idea.

In the cargo hold of the shuttle, he had found no food apart from emergency rations, which looked every bit as unappealing as they tasted, but they were marginally better than starving to death on an alien planet.

There were spare parts for the shuttle, but since it was part of his escape plan, he couldn’t risk the Ozzis taking the shuttle as a gift.

Water was out of the question, since they had rivers and were unlikely to be fooled into thinking it was anything other than water.

Which had left Marc just Starfleet issue beer. Probably the worst beer in the world, but on a long mission, it was better than nothing.

From the quantities stashed in the shuttle, someone had clearly tried to smuggle it aboard without him knowing, but if it meant that him and the admiral got out of here alive, then he would gladly look the other way.

Marc took another sip of the beer before offering a can to Miller, and he eyed it suspiciously before getting one of his friends to open it.

They jumped as the beer fizzed out, but this time they all laughed about it, and Miller hesitantly took a sip, his fuzzy blond antennae wiggling as he smiled.

“What do you call this divine nectar?”

“We call it beer.”

“Bee-err?” Miller took a large swig, downing most of the can in one go before signalling for someone to bring him another.

“We can supply you with unlimited beer, if you agree to release the admiral and join Starfleet.” Marc started handing out the cans to the other Ozzis, smiling as they all reacted with surprise to the beer fizzing out.

“Unlimited beer?” Miller’s antennae stood to attention, and it reminded Marc of Jorge raising his eyebrow to underline his point.

“For as long as you are a member of Starfleet.”

Marc glanced around the cave, the Ozzis all chatting and enjoying their beer as those closest to Miller whispered into his ears.

Miller smiled, and Marc knew that it was a done deal.

Now all he had to do was figure out a way to get the admiral, and Starfleet, to agree to supplying them with unlimited beer.

“I accept your terms, thank you for your generous gift.”

“You are most welcome.” Marc bowed, and he watched as two of the Ozzis were sent into the depths of the cave, no doubt to retrieve the admiral.

Marc tried to keep his face neutral as his heart pounded away, every passing second like torture as he wondered if they were just buying time before killing him, but then a familiar face appeared, escorted by the Ozzis that had left earlier.

“We wish you a safe journey back to your Starfleet, and we look forward to receiving more of this delicious beer.” Miller raised his can of beer, and Marc did the same, taking another swig as Vale looked at him in confusion, but Marc just kept smiling as they backed their way out of the cave, the Ozzis getting more rowdy with every crate of beer that they consumed.

“What did you tell them?” Vale whispered, once they were out of the cave, and Marc shook his head.

“I’ll tell you everything once we’re on the shuttle and on our way back to the Starship Estrella.”

Vale nodded in agreement, his relief visible once he was on the shuttle, and Marc felt the effects of the alcohol surging through his veins.

“I think maybe you should fly the shuttle.”

Vale rolled his eyes, but he looked glad to be on his way back to the ship, and away from the damp cave that he had spent nearly a day in.

*

Marc had told Jorge that they were on their way back, and Luca was going to meet them at the shuttle bay, but the rest of the journey was spent in silence, Marc unsure if he should be apologising or not.

He knew that he had done the wrong thing, albeit for the right reasons, but he wasn’t sure that Starfleet would understand.

Vale was first off the shuttle, and Luca rushed up to greet him, suddenly looking so young as he clung to his brother for dear life.

“Vale, I’m sorry, I should have come back to Starfleet when you asked.” Luca sniffed, and Vale stroked his back, calming him as he buried his face against his shoulder.

“No, it’s my fault, I should never have asked that of you.” Vale squeezed Luca tighter, until he let out a little squeak. “You’ll always be my baby brother, and I’ll never stop trying to protect you, but it was wrong for me to make that decision for you.”

Marc never thought he’d hear the admiral say that he was sorry, but the relief was short lived.

Vale stepped back so that he could give Luca room to breathe, and Marc froze when the admiral locked eyes on him.

“You’re going to have to come back to Starfleet with me and file a report about what happened.”

“Yes, Admiral.”

“Commander Lorenzo will be acting captain until Starfleet have made a decision.”

Marc nodded, and he didn’t miss the look of disappointment on Tito’s face as he slipped out of the cargo bay.

“Yes, Admiral.”

“Luca, I would love to stay and catch up, but I have to head back to Starfleet command.”

“I understand.” Luca went in for one last hug, and Alex crept closer, trying to keep his distance from Luca so that the admiral wouldn’t know that they were dating. Although nothing stayed a secret from the admiral for long, he prided himself on knowing what was happening on every ship in Starfleet, including all the gossip.

Alex gave Marc a big hug, and Marc felt so tiny in that instant, the sudden realisation that his life as he knew it could be over because of one reckless decision.

And then he heard Luca whisper something to Vale.

“Please don’t punish him.”

Vale’s look said it all, it was out of his hands, and Marc really hoped that Starfleet would be kind to him.

A different, more luxurious, shuttle was arranged to take them back to Starfleet, and Marc climbed aboard on shaking legs.

Watching the Starship Estrella disappear into the distance made him realise how much he had risked, and how much he was going to lose if he got demoted, or worse, booted out of Starfleet.

They sat in silence for the longest time, the thoughts swirling through Marc’s head, wondering if there was something that he could have done to avoid this whole mess.

“I’m sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry about? I just successfully brokered a deal with the Ozzis race, and all for the price of some cheap beer.”

“You…” Marc bit his lip, he knew that he was in no position to complain, that he should be grateful for the admiral ignoring his transgressions.

“I think it will be a most fortuitous alliance, don’t you?”

“What about the kidnapping?”

“Just a misunderstanding, I had agreed to be transported down to the Ozzis homeworld so that I could conclude the negotiations for them to join Starfleet, and the universal translator must have made an error with the message.”

“Right.” Marc shook his head, Starfleet thinking that he needed the admiral’s help with a diplomatic mission was nothing compared to Starfleet knowing that the Ozzis had declared war on them and he’d disobeyed the admiral’s orders.

“You will agree with every word in my official report, and you will convince your crew to do the same.”

“Already done.”

“I respect Luca’s position in Starfleet, but you will never again disobey me.” Vale ducked so that he could look Marc in the eyes, his smile predatory, and Marc felt a shiver run down his spine. “Do we have a deal?”

Marc didn’t even have to think before reaching out to shake Vale’s hand.

“Deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> *and obviously none of this actually happened, it is all a figment of my twisted imagination ;)


End file.
